The Way of the Nothlit
by ratman
Summary: Ever wondered what it's like to become a nothlit? Wonder no longer. Tobias is here to tell you.


"The Way of the Nothlit"  
by Phil Smith   
  
Chapter 1  
  
My name is Tobias.  
I've been through a lot. And survived. But now I'm different then I was, before all this.  
I can't tell you my last name, or where I live. I can't tell you much, sorry. But I've got a reason.  
I've got my own story to tell, about how the Invasion all started. And what it's like to become a nothlit  ...  
  
Months before...   
  
I had just waken up, to find a bird inside my room.  
"A bird?" I asked. I had no idea what it was doing there. It wasn't very smart, being there though. Dude, my cat, was on my floor, sleeping.  
It's just a dream, the bird said. It really didn't say it, I guess. It sort of just came into my head.  
"A dream?" I asked, as I sat up. I thought I recognized this bird from somewhere. It was now looking around my room, and fixed it's eyes on my Star Trek calender for a moment. "I know you, don't I?" I asked.  
Kind of, the bird told me. It was like it spoke in thoughts. And I know you....Tobias.  
"How do you know my name?" I asked him.  
I can't tell you that. But listen, Tobias, I... It perched on my dresser, and appeared to be thinking. It was funny. A bird thinking.  
Tobias, the bird started again. Walk home with Jake. Walk through the construction site.  
"What?" I asked. How did this bird know about Jake.  
I was a normal human kid. I was about five-foot-three, had sandy blond hair, almost borwn, and brown eyes. I wasn't ugly, but I wouldn't call myself cute, either. I was normal. But even then, my life wasn't.  
I'd had a dad, and a mom, but no siblings. But my mother was always depressed.  
She kept saying, always out of my father's hearing range, that my dad just wasn't the man she'd married. She kept talking about how "Alan" was so nice, and fun.  
But my father's name was Steve.  
When I was two, my mother, Loren, had disappeared. I had no idea what had happened to her.  
About six months after that, my dad lost it too. He went missing too, and it was assumed suicide.  
So I was an orphan.  
I had an aunt and an uncle. My aunt lived in New York, but you don't have to know where my uncle lived. My aunt and uncle didn't like each other too much, and they also didn't like me. I was thrust around the country every six months, never completing a school year in one place. The only part I liked about it was the flying. When I was in an airplane, I got away from it all.  
When this bird had come in to my life, I was living with my uncle.  
I wasn't very popular at school. But not dweeby enough that the bulies stayed away from me. I was picked on almost every day at school. That was how I'd met Jake.  
One day some punks had started beating me up in the bathroom. Then Jake an his buddy, Marco came in.  
Jake looked at me with a sorry face, then said, "Yo, what's going on?"  
He was pretty popular at school, so the bulies turned around quickly. And from what I'd heard, he was pretty good at fighting. On the boxing team.  
The two bowls tried to block the door of the stall they were fighting me in. "Uh, nothin' Jake."  
He frowned. "Get out of here. Chapman's comin'."  
That got the kids out fast. Mr. Chapman was our Assistant Principal.  
I got up to see Marco snickering. I'd heard that he was a big class clown. Heard with my own ears, that is, in science class. So I'd expected him to make fun of me.  
"Thanks, man," I said to Jake. Then I grabbed my books and headed to the door.  
"See ya. We're going to the mall Friday, if you want to come," Jake said.  
I thought about it for a minute. I hoped it wasn't just a mercy invite. I hoped that he wasn't just doing it to be nice.  
"I'll ask my uncle. Bye." I walked off, leaving Jake and Marco in the bathroom.  
The bird had just told me to walk through the construction yard with Jake.  
Tobias? the bird said to me. You should go back to sleep.  
"I am  asleep, aren't I?" I asked. Even though the bird had said so, I felt like I was awake. " And if it isn't a dream, I'll never get back to sleep!" I exclaimed.  
I can help you sleep, the bird said, flying to my bed. Hold out your arm. Don't be afraid.  
I was kind of afraid. I'd seen When animals attack , so I knew the damage those talons could do. This bird was a red-tailed hawk, according to my books. He had talons like one of my T-Rex dino toys. But somehow I knew that this red-tail wouldn't attack me.  
So I held out my arm. He took great care in trying not to hurt me, but my arm still got scratched up. He could have killed me if he had wanted to.  
But my mind started to numb. I wondered if he was hurting me, cause this was making me very tired. It seemed like hours from when he first touched me, to when he got off. But my clock said that it had been less than a minute.  
I opened my eyes, and he was gone.  
I decided it would be good to get some sleep.  
  
Chapter 2  
  
The next morning I woke up to my uncle shouting.  
"Tobias!" he exclaimed. "You little runt, yer gonna be late!"  
He appeared to care that I was getting to school on time. But I knew better. He just didn't want the truant officer coming.  
I got out of bed, and checked the time. It was 8:02. I was already late.  
As quickly as I could, I got dressed. Not really worrying what I was wearing, or how I looked, I ran down the stairs, grabbed my coat, and was out the door.  
I got on my bike, and started the long trek to school. I was kinda out of shape, so it usually took a while.  
I almost always got to school late. It was one of my only ways to avoid bullies. They seemed to be naturally attracted to me.  
I loved to go on my bike, and do jumps. It was how I kept sanity in the modern day world. There were few things I really enjoyed in life.  
I got to school in about ten minutes, and was totally out of breath. Quickly, I locked my bike up, then rushed into my classroom. I sat down in my seat, only to find it pulled out by someone at the last second.  
Almost everyone started cracking up. Only a few kids were able to keep straight faces.  
I got up, mumbled something I probably shouldn't repeat, then sat down again.  
The teacher frowned. "Tobias," he said, "how many times do I have to tell you to get here on time. Report to Chapman in his office immediately."  
I got up to go to the door, when someone tripped me on my way out. Again almost everyone laughed at me. It was beginning to be a routine.  
Oh well,  I thought to myself, you'll be leaving soon anyway.  
Chapman was our assistant principal. I'd never liked him. But at least he didn't give me the sorry looks most teachers gave.  
I hated pity.  
I entered the Office, and the secretary, Mrs. Maxwell sighed. "Mr. Chapman is in his office, Tobias," she said.  
I went to his door, when Mrs. Maxwell said, "Oh yes, he is meeting with another student. You can sit by the door."  
As I sat down, I heard talking from his room.  
"Tremain 5433," a familiar voice, which I knew to be Chapman's, said, "Is all ready for the Sharing meeting on Sunday?"  
"Yes, sir," a different voice said. "The banners are being posted up around the school, and most the people know about it. It's fortunate we've got the kid's 'popular' people infested. It's being broadcasted as, what's the human word, 'hip'?"  
Chapman then said, "Okay, you can get to class. And get your twin's host to come to me."  
The door opened, and a kid named Forbes came out. But I didn't see why Chapman had called him "Tremain."  
I entered Chapman's office and sat down.  
"Hello, Tobias. What can I do for you?" Chapman asked.  
"Mr. Chrome told me to come down here for being late too many times."  
Chapman looked at his Macintosh, clicked a few buttons, then said, "Yes. It says here that you've been tardy sixteen  times in the last two months. But that isn't anything serious," he said sarcastically.  
Then his face grew grim. "I understand that you do not live in a happy household, Tobias. Were you aware that a new club has started? It's called the Sharing, and is perfect for you."  
"Huh?" I asked. Then I regained my composure, and said, "Well, sorry, but I've got things to do. Can I go back to class?"  
Chapman frowned. "It would be very fun. Girls  are coming too," he added.  
I got up. "Well, see ya, Mr. Chapman."  
I left the room.  
I went back to class, and sat down in my seat. I looked at my watch and found that there was only ten minutes left in homeroom.  
My eyes shifted around the room, then finally out towards the window. There I saw a hawk of some sort flying, free.  
"Man," I said to myself, "I sure wish I could just fly away."  
  
Chapter 3  
  
School went pretty slow and uneventful, until it was time to leave.  
As I heard the bells ring, I got up from my seat and started to go to the hall.  
Just before I left, I heard a familiar voice shout, "Hey, Tobias, wait up!"  
I turned around to see Jake running towards me. I smiled.  
"What's up?" I asked.  
Jake said, "Um, you goin' to the mall?"  
"My uncle told me not to," I admitted, truthfully. But then the hawk from the night before came into my mind, so I then added, "But what the old man don't know can't hurt him."  
Jake smiled. "See you there," he added.  
I biked home, in high spirits, only to find my uncle drunk when I got home.  
"Wherve yoou benn?" he asked.  
"Uh, I was at school."  
"Yer principle Chap-whatever called, and said you've been late too many times. I don't want the ovisser guy commin' 'round 'ere again!"  
I nodded. "Sorry, old man. It won't happen again."  
I rushed up to my room. There Dude was licking a cut he'd gotten on his leg.  
"Dude," I scolded, "how many times have I told you not to fight with other cats?" It was obvious how he'd been wounded.  
The cat just purred, and jumped up into my arms.   
I smiled. "How could I not forgive a face like that?"  
I started doing my homework, with Dude walking all over my books. I opened my window and said, "Dude, out!" He obliged, and then I shut the window.  
At about six, I walked downstairs, and told my influenced uncle that I was going out on a bike ride.  
"Whenre yer gonna be back?" my sober (yea right!) uncle asked.  
"Around twelve," I called.  
My uncle accepted that, and I smiled.  
There were some advantages to having no real parents.  
I went outside and noticed that my bike chain was loose, and had broken. My uncle, probably. It would probably take about a half hour to fix this time. Oh well,  I said to myself. I can just walk there.    
Once I got to the mall, I hung out for a while. I checked out the new Star Trek comics, and looked at the cats in the pet store. Then I started looking for Jake.  
As I walked past the Cyberia, this loud video game place, I saw Marco and Jake exiting. I went towards them, and called out, "What's up?"  
Jake shrugged. "Not much. We're heading home."  
"Out of quarters," Marco said. "Certain people keep forgetting that the SleazeTroll shows up right after you cross the Nether Fjord. So certain people keep losing the game -- and our quarter." Marco kept jerking his finger at me, making me feel like an idiot.  
Marco, I can tell who you mean, you idiot,  I said to myself.  
"So, like maybe I'll walk home with you guys," I said. I know it was a pathetic way to try to make friends, but really I had nothing to lose.  
"Sure," Jake said. "Whatever."  
As we got to the exit, Jake saw his cousin Rachel and her friend Cassie.  
Rachel is pretty, and tall enough to be a model, and pretty popular. She has long, blond hair, and blue eyes. She's like a fashion queen, and I don't think she could go a week without getting to the mall.  
Cassie is her friend, a black kid, that's pretty short. She loves all kinds of animals, and her parents run a small animal farm or something. I knew Jake likes her.  
"You guys going home?" Jake asked. "You shouldn't go through the construction site by your selves. I mean, being girls and all."  
I thought that was a pretty sexist comment. Also, Rachel got kind of mad.  
"Are you going to come and protect us, you big, strong m-a-a-a-n?" she asked. "You think we're helpless because we're --" She was cut off by Cassie, who saved Jake by saying, "I'd appreciate it if they did walk with us. I know you're  not afraid of anything, Rachel, but I guess I am."  
Rachel shut her mouth.  
We decided to take a cut through the construction site, which is this place where they were gonna build another mall. They never quite finished it, though, and now a bunch of weird people hung out there. I suppose the other kids would have gotten in trouble if they were caught, but I  didn't have to worry about that.  
We crossed the road and found a opening in the fence that some kids had made. It was an isolated place, so I don't think anyone saw us.  
I'd been there a few times, just to hang out, so I knew some people lived there. I could only hope, however, that no ax-murders would come and kill us. I was starting to think that maybe it had been a bad idea.  
I started looking up at the stars. It was a game I played. I'd look up at the sky for airplanes, then pretend they were flying saucers from a different planet.  
But then I saw something. And I knew it was not  just a plane. It was about as long as a school bus, and had a wicked looking tail at the end. And it looked like it was coming towards us.  
I stopped, and pointed my hand at it. "Look," I said, my eyes wide, and my mouth in a large smile.  
"What?" Jake asked, sounding slightly annoyed.  
Now it was my turn to be annoyed. In a slightly serious, but happy voice , I said, "Just look."  
Jake too stopped for a moment. He stared at the UFO and said, "What is it?"  
I knew what it was. At least I thought  I knew what it was. But if I was wrong, Marco would never stop laughing. So I shook my head, and lied, "I don't know."  
Jake and I glanced at each other. I could tell that he thought he knew what it was, too.  
Cassie just blurted it out, however. "It's a flying saucer!"  
  
Chapter 4  
  
"A flying saucer?" Marco asked, laughing. But then he looked up. And stopped laughing.  
It was amazing. Actual contact with aliens! I would be part of a real life First Contact  ! I now had something to live for!  
"It's coming this way," Rachel said.  
Jake whispered, "It's hard to be sure." I wasn't sure if he wanted  it to be real. But I knew I did.  
"No," Rachel stated, "it's coming this way." She sounded very definite.   
It seemed that Rachel was right. The ship was slowing down, to the point where I could make out more things about it.  
"It' not exactly a flying saucer," I told them. As if they couldn't tell themselves.  
The tail thing just had  to be a weapon. Probably a laser, or something, from the looks of it. At the front was a cockpit, I guessed, and it was aerodynamically shaped like an egg.  
Jake seemed to read my thoughts. "That tail thing. It looks like a weapon." Genius.  
"Definitely," Marco agreed.  
In Rachel's Totally-sure-of-herself voice, she said, "It's stopping." I guessed that she, too, didn't really want it to be real.  
"I think it sees us," said Marco, entranced. "Should we run?" he asked. Then he explained himself. "Do you know how much money we could get for a video of a real UFO?"  
"If we run, they might...I don't know, zap us with phasers on full power," Jake said.  
"Phasers are only on Star Trek  ," Marco said, as if he was an authority on the subject. He rolled his eyes, but I was sure I knew more then him.  
Star Trek  was sort of my life. It was another one of the few things that made me happy.  
The ship stopped almost on top of us, about a hundred feet up, hovering. It was amazing! This ship must be pretty powerful.  
My scraggly hair was being pulled up, but not very forcefully, so it stayed on my head. I glanced at the others, and their hair was acting the same way.  
"What do you think it is?" Marco asked, with a scared tone in his voice. Not his normal sarcastic one.  
I realized I was grinning. It was just amazing! I'd never been so happy. I could tell the others were scared, but I was happy. Not scared at all. "I think it's going to land," I said. I couldn't keep the excitement out of my voice.  
The ship was descending, but from the way the landing pads had opened, I was able to tell before the others. This kind of stuff was my bag.  
"It's coming right at us!" Jake cried. And people called me  a wuss. Jake kept looking back the way we came, like he was fighting himself not to run away.  
I wasn't planing on leaving any time soon. And none of the others were, for they were all standing their ground, bathing in the glowing light of the spaceship.  
The spaceship was slightly burned. It looked like it had just come from battle. It landed on the ground.  
I would be one of the first people to see an alien.  
"It isn't very big, is it?" Rachel asked in a whisper.  
"It's about -- " Jake started -- "about three or four times as big as our mini van."  
"We should tell someone," Marco said. "I mean, this is major, you know? Spaceships don't just land in the construction site every day. We should call the cops or the army or the president or something. We'd be totally famous. We'd get to be on Letterman for sure."  
"Yeah, you're right. We should call someone," Jake said.  
I wasn't going! I had to see it all! And I guess the others felt the same way. No one moved.  
"I wonder if we should try to talk to it," Rachel suggested, breaking the silence. She was looking intently at the spaceship, probably with a million things going through her mind. With her hands on her hips, she looked totally different from how she was at school. "I mean, we should communicate. If that's even possible."  
I nodded. Rachel was right; it was the smart thing to do. Exactly what someone in one of my Star Trek  books would have done.  
I was the first to say anything. "It's safe," I said in my loud, clear, talking-to-aliens voice. "We won't hurt you."  
"Do you think they speak English?" Jake asked to no one.  
The chances of that were slim to none. The alien would probably just vaporize us, or something. That's what humans would do.  
"Well, everyone speaks English on Star Trek, " Cassie said with a nervous laugh.  
I decided not to explain to her that Life isn't Star Trek, because I wanted to try again communicating.  
"Please come out. We won't hurt you," I said. I silently added, but you're lucky, 'cause most humans would. That may sound cynical, but it was true.  
I know. There was a voice in my head, that had said that. Jake and the others were all looking funny at each other, but it had obviosly just been telepathy. I thought that they might have heard it, too.  
"Did everyone hear that?" I asked.  
They all nodded, as if making sure.  
I took initiative. "Can you come out?"  
Yes. Don't be frightened.   
The others weren't moving, so I answered, "We won't be frightened."   
"Speak for yourself," Jake muttered.  
What I guess what was the doorway started to open. As if through magic, light apeared in the wall of the pod. It got bigger, and soon became a full circle. Through that, I could see the alien.  
In real life, aliens aren't like the aliens from TV shows. This one wasn't, as I could tell as soon as the door had fully opened. It was a centaur. You know, those mythical beings from Greek Mythology? Half human, half horse? This was one, though slightly modified.  
The first thing I noticed was the eyes. This thing had four of them. Two normal eyes on its human like head, but on the top of his head was two stalk things. There were eyeballs on the tips of these, and the stalk eyes moved about, looking all around. It's arms were not very muscular, and pretty small. On its hands, about eight fingers were out. And then it had the tail.  
The tail looked sort of like the main weapon on his ship, and was obviously controlled by him. On the end was a very sharp blade. This thing could slice, and dice. Just look at that tomato!   
The alien had blue fur, and it's eyes were a sort of distilling green. On its face, there was no mouth, just three vertical slits.  
"Hello," I said, grinning like a baby. I now knew that if the alien wanted us dead, then we'd be dead. So we were probably safe for the moment.  
Hello, the alien said, using telepathy again.  
"Hi," we all said back. I guess it sounded kind of cheesy, because the alien staggered back. But then he fell forward out of his ship, onto the dirt.   
"Look!" Cassie cried. She pointed at a burn on the alien's side, that probably hurt a lot. Some greenish blood like stuff was slowly oozing out. "He's hurt," she said, matter-of-factly.  
Yes. I am dying, the alien said.  
"Can we help you?" Marco asked. "We can call an ambulance, or something."  
"We can bandage that wound," Cassie said. "Jake, give me your shirt. We can tear it up and make bandages." Cassie's mom and dad were animal experts. Her mom was a vet at this zoo in town, and her dad ran a farm/clinic type thing. But this was an alien! It must have sounded pretty insulting to the centaur.  
No, the alien said calmly. I will die. The wound is fatal.   
I was scared that the alien was right. That the first alien to come to Earth would die. But I had gotten good at lying and hiding my emotions over my short life. It helped.  
But Jake showed off everything. "NO!" he yelled. "You can't die! You're the first alien to come to Earth. You can't die."  
I totally agreed with Jake. But my mouth stayed shut, for the moment.  
I am not the first. There are many, many others, the alien told us.  
There still might be a chance! "Other aliens? Like you?" I asked in a demanding sort of tone.  
It shook it's head slowly, as if sad about something. Maybe it was because he was going to die. I wasn't exactly good at reading alien emotions.  
Not like me, it said grimly.  
The alien cried out in pain. It was right. It was dying. But for some reason, I felt very deeply affected by this. Like somehow, I knew it.  
Not like me. They are different.   
"Different?" Jake asked. "How?"  
Its answer struck me hard.  
They have come to destroy you.   
  
Chapter 5  
The alien waited for a moment. I suppose he was waiting for it to sink in. But no one denied it. No one tried to tell him that he was lying.  
Because we all knew it wasn't.  
They're called Yeerks.  They are different from us. Different from you, as well.   
"Are you telling us they're already here on Earth?" Rachel asked.  
Many are here. Hundreds. Maybe more.   
"Why hasn't anybody noticed them?" Marco asked. "I think someone would have mentioned it at school."  
You don't understand. Yeerks are different. They have no body, like yours or mine. They live in the bodies of other species. They are ...   
The alien was having trouble giving us a description. But then I saw it. There was a greenish yellowish thing in front of me. It looked like a tapeworm, and had two little antennas. It had whitish eyes that glowed provocatively, and was about the size of a rat. Not a pretty picture, but an alien none the less.  
Most aliens were probably good, right?  
"I'm guessing that was a Yeerk," Marco said.  
The alien told us more about the Yeerks. They were parasites, and took over the bodies of their hosts. They'd wrap around the host's brain, into every nook and cranny, and the host would become a slave to the Yeerk.  
He went on to tell us about how they were evil, bent on taking over other species. They went around the galaxy in their "Bug Fighters" and "Blade Ships" creating terror.  
There really was no use in the alien telling us all this. If we tried to confront anyone, we'd probably just be infested, and we'd provide no use.  
But then the alien, an Andalite as he had told us, got an idea.  
Perhaps... Elfangor, the Andalite said.  
Then he told Jake to go into his ship, and bring out a small blue box.  
Jake came out, shaken. He carried the box, and handed it to Elfangor. He said something, but I wasn't paying attention. I was just looking at the intracite patterns on the box.   
Elfangor told us what it was, something like an "Escafilli Device," and said that with it we'd be able to morph into anything we touched.  
I was in a daze, and not paying attention.   
We had a vote, and it was decided that we would take the morphing power.  
"Fight the Yeerks," I whispered, and I don't think anyone heard me.  
We all put our hands on a side of the Blue box, the Andilite's many fingers overlapping ours. The box turned cloud white, and for a moment I seemed to be able to see through everyone. I could see their blood swimming around, especially the Andilite's blood. But there was a time limit, he told us.  
If we stayed in morph for over two hours, we would be trapped. Forever.  
A few seconds later, the Andalite shouted, Yeerks! Run!   
The others started running for cover when they heard the name of the Yeerks said. They booked, but I stayed with the alien, trying to help it.  
Tobias ... It said wearily, Tobias, I am your, ugh! I felt a blast of pain shoot through me like earlier. Tobias, I can't tell you how I know you. But you have to fight the war. Someday, you will know.   
But I see you will not leave me now. And the greatest weapon in war is information. I am Elfangor, and I will give it to you.   
Visions went through my head. Like the picture we saw of the Yeerk, I saw pictures of other things.   
There was a swimming pool, that the Yeerks seemed to be bathing in. Then a human was dragged down a pier by a weird alien, and it's head stuffed into the yellowish water. It was kicking and screaming, but after a few seconds, it stopped, and calmly walked off the pier. It was sick.  
The Yeerk Pool, Elfangor told me. The Yeerks must go there every three days to soak up Krandora Rays. Destroy this and the Krandora, and you will hurt the Yeerks a lot. They will only be able to keep their most important Yeerks alive.   
Before I could ask, "What's a Krandora?" Elfangor went on. The Krandora is the Yeerk's sun. They've built portable ones with our help, he said bitterly, and now can rampage the galaxy.   
He also showed me pictures of a Krandora, a Taxxon, a centipede like alien, and a bladed T-Rex type thing called a Hork-Bajir.  
Elfangor heard something, and his stalk eyes looked up at the sky. From his ship, I heard a faint, The Yeerks are descending.   
You must leave now! Elfangor shouted at me. I don't have time to explain how I know you, but someday I hope you will know. I hope that you can visit my planet sometime, and they will respect you. I am sorry for the condition of life you had here on Earth. You are the last chance for this planet. And remember one thing. Your Anger is a Gift!   
I started running to where the others were, and plopped down on the ground next to Rachel, for they were all stopped.  
"What did he say to you?" Rachel asked, whispering.  
"I'll tell you guys later," I told her.  
I overheard Elfangor say to his ship, All weapons on full power. Blast on my queue.   
Then the Aliens landed. The Yeerks. The Andilite Controler called Visser Three stepped out of his ship, and started sneering at Elfangor.  
He insulted him for a while, and then once he was done, started morphing.  
The morphing looked very strange. The Visser morphed into a large creature from another planet, and ate Elfangor. I swear, he ate the thing that had just befriended us.  
Like an idiot, Jake shouted, "No!" Obviously, that alerted the Yeerks.  
Adrenaline Rush time.  
Man, we were booking. We had to run from the Controllers majorly quick. If we so much as stumbled, we'd probably die. Maybe get infested.  
But Bone Head Jake had to trip. Leave it to a popular kid to do something stupid. But Jake was my only friend, so I didn't say that out loud.  
I was able to get out, but I wasn't sure about Jake. That one little "slip" might have lost the war for us.  
  
Chapter 6  
  
Somehow, I made it home. But as I stepped in the door and smelled beer, I knew I should have gone through the window.  
The clock only said eight, and I didn't have to get home 'till twelve, my uncle was still mad.  
"Where've you been, Runt?" he asked, with beer on his breath.  
"I told you I'd be at the mall," I told him.  
"I never gave you no permission to go to no mall!" he exclaimed, sure as sure can be.  
I decided not to argue with him for tonight.  
"Sorry," I said, giving in. Whenever I was pushed, I'd just give in. Exactly what bullies liked.  
"Sorry ain't good enough," he told me, folding up his sleeves. He was going to hit me!  
But I wasn't going to let that happen. Not this time, not ever again. "No!" I shouted, and ran towards his oncoming fist.  
I jumped on him, and got an idea. Before Elfangor was killed, he'd told us that we could acquire any animal we touched. And humans were animals.  
So I grabbed hold of my uncle, and with my arms gripping his wrist, I began to acquire him.  
His fierce eyes rolled over, and I'd of thought he was dead if I could not still feel his heart slowly beating. For about ten seconds, which seemed like hours, it was done. I felt another brilliant flash of light, and I could momentarily see through him.  
But after that, the trance was over. Before he got control of his body back, I pushed him down, and ran up to my room. Then I locked my door.  
I've got about five locks on my door. I hardly ever do any of them, 'cause it's a hazard, but I was less afraid of dying from fire then having my uncle kill me. And I knew that someday he would lose it....  
But I lay down to rest. Could I morph my uncle now? I was afraid of what would happen if I morphed the predator, though. So I didn't want to try it.  
Dude came up on my bed, and started licking me. I knew what that meant. He wanted food.  
I got up from my bed, and walked to the closet where I kept his food. I got out a can of Pow Pow Power Cat, my brand, and took out a can opener. Opening the can and dishing out the tuna into a bowl, I laid it on the floor for Dude to eat.  
Quickly he sprinted to the food and began eating like, well, a cat. As he ate, I began stroking him.  
I didn't plan to acquire him at first. I was just stroking his fur, and thinking about what the Andalite had told us, and Dude stopped eating. I looked down at him, and his eyes had also rolled over like my Uncle's. But soon, he resumed his eating. I could now morph.  
All the day's action had tired me out, so I laid down to rest.  
In a few hours, I awoke refreshed. Amazing what sleep can do.  
I noticed that Dude wasn't in my room anymore, so I decided to try morphing.  
  
Chapter 7  
  
"Morph," I said to myself. "Morph to Dude." The vision of the cat was formed in my mind.  
Then I was falling. Not literally, but that's exactly what it felt like. I was falling down to the ground. Then hair started growing, everywhere. I adopted Dude's grayish coat of fur, and then his eyes. I could see on a different plain now. Colors seemed different, and I could see perfectly into my dark bathroom. My clothes were draped around me, and I felt discomforted at the coarseness of my Denim Jeans. But my shirt felt nice. My claws came out, and then my arms and legs took on the shape of a cats.  
In about three minutes it was over. I was fully cat. I had become Dude.  
It was weird, being a cat. I felt all the cat's instincts, but my human brain was still there. I was still self concious.  
Then I jumped straight up, five feet into the air. That was like a human jumping up twenty feet. Just amazing. We would be able to crush the Yeerks (literally) if we got some really powerful morphs.  
The next day we would have to go to the Gardens.  
The Gardens is this zoo type thing we have in our town, where they have a bunch of animals, and also a lot of rides, too. And Cassie's mom worked there.  
The Yeerks had better watch out!  
I demorphed from Dude, stepped down from the dresser, and flopped down on my bed to sleep. It was going to be a long day tomorrow.  
That night I had a weird dream, again.  This time it wasn't a weird bird, though. Now it was the ghost of the Andalite, Elfangor, was haunting his dreams. Except this one didn't look quite like Elfangor. Sort of like a younger version of him.  
And he was crying, Help! Help me! It was very odd.  
But I woke up soon, and it was now the next day.  
To avoid my uncle, I decided to just go through the window. I opened my window, then morphed Dude. I wondered if he would be able to do this jump.  
Again, I felt like I was falling. But this time, the morph happened differently. I first took on the features of the cat while I was still about 5 foot 3, then I shrunk. It's a very odd feeling to be the size of a human, but almost be a cat.  
This time it felt like I morphed faster, though. It took about ten seconds less. And in battle, ten seconds could save your life.  
Now a cat, I went up to the window sill. I'd remembered that Dude could climb the tree down, as I'd seen him do a number of times, but still, I was scared. Everyone says cats always land on their feet. But I was the first person to test this theory, and report on it.  
As I climbed down the tree, slowly, but surely, I realized what this could do for us. Humans would finally be able to understand animals, and for the first time in human history, we could possibly live in peace with them.  
But I shredded that idea pretty quickly. As I said earlier, humans weren't exactly the best species to meet with. We had wars among ourselfs, and destroyed almost all that opposed us.  
Actually, though, I wasn't able to see what the animal thought about all this. I had my human mind, and only their instincts. But still, it was simply amazing.  
Once to the ground, I started running in the direction of Cassie's farm. I wanted to get a flying morph, like an eagle, or a hawk or something. So soon I got to her barn. The door was locked, I found to my dismay when I tried to pounce on it, but in my small cat body I was able to find a small hole in the wall.  
I got inside, then demorphed to human. It was nice in here, with all the animals and stuff, and no one was in there. That was pretty good, though, because I couldn't yet morph clothing. So I looked around, and the only uncaged bird was this hawk on a parrot stand.  
It had a brilliant red tail, and it's talon's, it's claws, were golden brown. The most beautiful bird in the world. It looked a lot like the bird I had seen the day before, while looking out the window. But in here it looked sad and lonely.  
A broken wing, I inferred from the bandage. But what if when I morphed it it also had a broken wing? Then it would be useless. But I might as well, so I started stroking it's feathers slowly.  
The bird fell silent, no longer flapping around like before. So gentle, and quiet. But those talons could do some damage.   
So in ten seconds I had acquired it. The birds DNA was mixed in with mine. I was almost going to morph right then, but I decided it might be good to acquire some other animals. Just in case.  
Instantly I remembered the dream. A red tailed hawk had been in my room. Or had it not been a dream at all?  
So I went to a cage with a broken-legged dog, and acquired him. Then I got a small rat that Cassie had in one of those weird hamster cages, with all the passage ways and stuff.   
So now I had five animal morphs. And I did  consider my uncle an animal. None of them high-powered, but they'd have to do for right now.  
Then I heard a weird rustling sound. In seconds it hit me. The door!  
  
Chapter 8  
  
As quickly as I could, I started to morph. Pressed for time, I just envisioned a picture of any animal. So I started to morph.  
Falling, again. But that was good, for the only morph I had larger then me was my Uncle. And that wouldn't help me much in this situation.  
An intricate pattern of feathers apeared on my skin, and my mouth turned hard, into a beak. I was morphing the bird. Then my arms shifted into the shape of a birds wings, and my eyes became hawk eyes.  
Oh man, those eyes were nice. I was nearsided in my human form. But these eyes could pick up details from miles away.  
Before I was complete, though, the door opened.  
Instinctively, I tried to flap away, but I was still to heavy. So I just jumped back, into a shadow, squaring.  
Whoever had come into the barn heard me squawk, so the person looked to my corner. By now I was fully morphed, however, but my eyes could not make out who it was in this darkness.  
"Maxell, is that you?" a familiar voice asked. It was Cassie! Thank god.  
She walked to where I was, and said, "But why aren't you still on your stoop? And what happened to your wing?"  
She wasn't expecting a response, but I gave her one.   
It's me, Cassie.   
I swear, she almost had a heart attack. She staggered back, but didn't fall. "Who, who said that?" she asked, scarred.  
Duh, I answered. Tobias, the neighborhood bird-boy. I'm in morph.   
"Oh," she said. "I was afraid that you might be, like, that Visser Three guy that killed Elfangor."  
I laughed a thought-speech laugh. Yeah. Something like that. Anyway, have you tried morphing? It's great!   
Cassie didn't respond, but she started changing. She was morphing to a horse, or something like that. For a moment, she looked a lot like that Andalite. A mix between a human and a horse. But brownish.  
Once she was done, I asked, How did you do that? I mean, get yourself to look like a Andalite?   
She seemed surprised. You mean you can't control the process of the morph?   
No, I answered.  
What are you doing here, anyway?   
I wanted to acquire some morphs, I answered.  
You could have asked me, Cassie said, straight, but kindly.  
That's not the way I do things.   
There was an awkward silence for a moment, then I said, Well, I'm off. See you!   
I was already out the door and flapping away when she called out, Tobias, wait! , but I pretended not to hear it.  
I went off to Jake's house, flying around, and riding the thermals. But as I neared him, I realized I didn't know how long I'd been in morph. Probably not more then two hours, but still, I had to be more careful. I didn't want to be stuck in the body of a hawk.  
Or did I?  
But soon I made it to Jake's house. I got inside his room, and showed him that I could morph. He tried to deny it at first, and say that it was all a dream, but I told him he couldn't. So finally, I got him to try morphing his dog, Homer.  
And he was able to do it.  
When we were all going to see Cassie, she was demorphing from a horse when a cop came up. Thankfully, we were able to hide Cassie until she'd finished morphing. But that guy had been really suspicious. He'd asked s if we knew who 'lighted off fireworks at the construction yard.' He had also mentioned that we should join the Sharing, and that Jake looked a lot like his brother, Tom, that was in the Sharing.  
A few days later, we went to the Gardens. We'd learned more info about the Yeerks already, and we'd already had a close encounter with them. There we had some, uh, problems with security, and I didn't have time to acquire anything good.  
Cassie, Rachel and I had split up from Jake and Marco, and we were being chased by a security guard. So I started morphing.  
  
Chapter 9  
  
I was getting bigger, morphing into my uncle. In super speed, my arms got larger, I got stronger, and faster. Half-way into the morph, I was able to use thought speech.  
Cassie! Rachel! Get away! I can handle this! I yelled. But thought speech is like email. You can have it go to everyone around, or just specific people, so fortunately people didn't leave the park wondering who Cassie and Rachel were.  
A security guard was on top of me. But already my adrenal glands were pumping full power. Fight, or Flight, was what they helped me do.  
I was going to fight.  
The guard who was on me looked surprised. A few minutes ago, he had been chasing three teenagers. Now he was fighting a grown man.  
Pulling out a nightstick, he tried hitting me. The blow connected, and I pain rippled through my body. Mad, I counterattacked, full of rage.  
I threw my fist at him, and in moments he was lying on the floor, winded. While he was still coughing up blood, I ran down the hall, demorphing. Fortunately, I made it out alive, although I still didn't have any killer morphs.  
The rest of us were okay too, thankfully. The others had done okay. They'd all gotten better morphs.  
Over the next day or so, Marco started having suspicions that Tom could be a controller. And it turned out to be true. And we also found out that the Sharing was a front organization for the Yeerks, to try to get people to become hosts voluntarily. People actually sacrificed their freedom. Sick.  
So when Tom offered to take some of us to a Sharing meeting, we realized that for sure he was a Yeerk. But Marco and Jake went with him, to try and spy on the Yeerks. By then Jake had also morphed a lizard of some sort, and spied on Chapman, our assistant principle. Chapman was a controller. And a voluntary host, I found out later. But only because he'd wanted to save his daughter, Melissa, from getting a Yeerk in her head.  
And now we knew that soon they'd have a large infestation. And we knew an entrance to the Yeerk pool. Our school. That was one thing Jake had found out from spying on Chapman.  
So the night of that Sharing meeting, I was posing as a hawk.  
It was pretty nice, actually. It was just a barbecue outside, with a bunch of people playing around on the beach. I demorphed, then remorphed so I would have more time to stay in red-tail morph.  
After a while, the full members, those that had Yeerks in their brains, went off to a special meeting. Jake morphed to dog, so he could stay right by them looking like a stray, and stupidly Cassie tried spying on them still as a human.  
They had gone off to a small enclosed area, surrounded by dunes. There there was a large campfire going, and guards all around. There was a good reason for all the guards, though. These Yeerks knew that some Andilites or humans knew what was happening. They were on the lookout for us.  
I noticed that one of the guards had seen Cassie, laying down and looking down the dune.  
Cassie! I shouted in thought speech. Cassie! A guard is coming after you!   
It obviously startled her, and she looked up to see the same cop that had seen us before running to her.  
I couldn't hear what either of them said, for my hearing wasn't that great from this far away and with all the noise, but it left Cassie pretty shaken up. But she wouldn't tell me what he'd said.  
Soon after that night, it was time for our assault on the Yeerk Pool.  
We all morphed human, and entered the school with all the others. But strangely, Cassie was not with us.  
We were the Animorphs. Marco had come up with the word before we went to the Gardens. Animal Morphers. Or, as Marco said afterwards, Five Idiot Teenagers with a Death Wish.  
So everyone was walking into the school, in a line. Quite a site to see, actually. Then we went to the entrance, and began the trek to the Yeerk Pool.  
And I mean Trek. There must have been like five million steps we walked down to get in there. And the whole way, the hideous screaming of not-yet-controled humans rang out.  
  
Chapter 10  
  
It was not a pretty sight down there. In cages, everywhere, were humans and Hork-Bajir. There were two long piers, one where the Yeerks got out of your head, and another where they got in. People would be calmly walk up the first pier, and the Yeerk would cut the connection to their host and plop into the Pool. Then they'd be dragged down it, and put into a cage. They'd scream the whole way.  
"Please! Save us!" someone yelled. Screams like that were everywhere. I guessed that I'd be dreaming about this place for a while.  
I was disgusted to see that some of the humans and Hork-Bajir were calm the whole way. They'd sit in a corner, watching TV or doing other things, completely blocking out the screams.   
I slipped out of line into a dark corner, and started morphing. I had only one morph that would do much. And anyway, the Yeerks wouldn't expect to be beaten by a hawk!  
I started morphing, conscious that at any second a controller could come and see me. But I needed something other than my weak human form.  
First, the feathers came on. I started to turn mostly brown, in a spectacular pattern. Then I got a beak. Then my feet turned into talons. And soon, the morph was compete. I was pleased to note that it was faster then the other times, but not by much.  
As soon as I was done, I took to the air. I started flapping over the heads of all the Controllers, and of my friends. But then I spotted Cassie.  
She was being dragged by the police officer onto the second pier! She was going to be infested!  
As soon as I could, I began racing to her. I attacked the nearest Hork-Bajir, made a scar on his face and sent him screaming into the Yeerk Pool. Then I hit the cop, and made way for her to get off.  
She did, and quickly morphed to horse. It was good that she was able to morph so fast.  
The other Animorphs took on their battle morphs. Jake to tiger, Marco to gorilla, and Rachel to elephant. So we started kicking'!  
Marco was able to release some of the imprisoned humans and Hork-Bajir, and a rebellion was started in a few minutes. Quickly, the free humans got out and started attacking the nearest controllers in sight. Quite inspiring, actually.  
Then the Visser showed up, just as Cassie was running up the stairs with several humans on her back. Visser Three morphed into a large inferno creature, and started shooting fireballs at us. Not so inspiring.  
But then Tom, Jake's brother came up. He yelled something at the Visser, and ran at him! I was afraid that Visser Three would kill Tom, and Jake I'm sure was too.  
But Tom was just pushed away, and wasn't really hurt. By then all the other Animorphs were out of there. All of us except me.  
The Yeerks had gotten a lot of Controllers out, so they were guarding the exits. If I tried getting out that way, I'd be like fried chicken. And I couldn't demorph; I really didn't want to get a Yeerk shoved up my brain. That would take me out of the picture for fighting the Yeerks, and then they'd take the rest. I knew where they all lived.  
But in my hawk morph, my ear was too small to admit a Yeerk. As I said earlier, a Yeerk is about the size of a rat. So there'd be no way that one could get me. So I was safe. For now.  
I made the decision to get trapped as a hawk. Two hours. Tick tock.  
It was horrible. Just knowing that I'd never be able to morph again. That I'd be a red-tailed hawk for the rest of my life. I wouldn't be able to ever return to being a human.  
An hour and a half of pure agony. Knowing that I could  be human if I wanted to sacrifice my freedom. But I would never be infested with a Yeerk. I'd never become a controller and betray my friends.  
After what seemed like years, I knew it was done. I felt a tingle go through my body, sort of like when I first got the power from Elfangor. By then, all the controllers had calmed down.  
Visser Three had realized that all the 'Andilites' as he called us had left. No one noticed a little bird standing perched on one of the devices in the Yeerk pool. So he called off the siege of the Yeerk pool; he allowed the controllers to leave again. That way no one would wonder where they were.  
So I flew out then, into the cold, open air. Never again to stop flying. Always living as a predator, hunting for my food. Killing innocent animals so I could survive. Survival of the fittest disgusted me.  
I was saddened, but at the same time happy to be free of my human prison. I could fly as high as an eagle. I wouldn't be able to fight the Yeerks as easily anymore, but I wouldn't be useless.  
So I flew to Rachel's house. With thought speech I told her to wake up, and she got up and opened the window. I flew in and landed on her dresser.  
"Tobias," she commanded, "demorph."  
I looked at her, with a sad look in my eyes. If that's possible for a bird. I can't.   
  
Chapter 11  
  
Sorry Rachel, I said. Remember the part about a time limit? I stayed over two hours.   
"Just try , Tobias. Maybe he was lying," she said, her eyes full of hope. "You know, like maybe that was only for Andalites, or aliens, or something like that."  
You forget, Rachel, I said with a laugh, that to him, we're the aliens.   
It dawned on Rachel that I wasn't playing a sick joke on her, or anything like that. That I was serious.  
Wow! She was smart!  
But she was awful pretty. And she did seem to like me.  
I'm sorry, Rachel. I'm trapped in morph, at least for now. Maybe, I started, trying to get her more happy, maybe if we ever meet another Andalite, maybe it can help me demorph. Somehow, once we win, and I know we'll win (we're the good guys. The good guys always win!), I'll be able to return to being human.   
I could tell she was crying now. "Maybe," she said, her voice faltering.  
I went and told the others. But I told Jake last, 'cause I was afraid the big leader would be angry with me. But he wasn't; he was just sad.  
Soon I had found a nice tree in a forest near Cassie's house. That way it'd be easy for her to get me. And being a hawk really wasn't too  bad.  
I remembered about the bird, the hawk that had come to me in my dreams. Was that hawk me? Maybe I would never know.  
Maybe I would...  
  
...months later...  
  
Well, a lot has happened since the beginning. Too much to explain. Elfangor's brother, who we call 'Ax' came to Earth, so we had another Animorph on our team. He told me that the Andilites would call one that was trapped in morph a nothlit.  Later, through the power of a creature called the 'Ellimist', I was able to go back in time as a bird to see the old me. So it had been me in my dream, to a point of view. The Ellimist also gave me a gift. And I found out that Elfangor, the Andalite that gave me the morphing powers was somehow my father.  
What would I find out next? 

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   [1]: http://www.geocities.com/?source=watermark&browser=NS



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